Would you dance with me?
by hikari yuuko
Summary: [YohAnna, RenPilica, HoroTamao] Yoh and co. are invited to a ball in honor of the Great Spirits. Yoh doesn't know how to dance, Ren simply won't do it... CHAPTER 3 UP! ...And Horo is scared of girls? O.o I'm sorry for the long delay, feel free to hit me!
1. Lessons

**Would you dance with me?**

Written by Adriana (hikari yuuko)  
Date: May 2nd, 2003. Revised: November 29th, 2008.  
**Disclaimer:** Shaman King doesn't belong to me. I claim only the plot and my OC.

***

_Chapter I: Lessons_

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The blonde girl pushed the red triangle-marked 'play' button on the music recorder and a soft tune began playing. The boy laughed nervously, headphones wiggling around his neck as he sat on one of the three stone beds in the room. The room's small table and two chairs had been put on one corner next to the window, leaving a large space in the center; the girl stood proudly in the middle of such space, waiting impatiently.

"Now, stand up, walk next to me, and put your arm around my waist," the girl ordered, her arms cross over her chest in a sign of annoyance and complete control.

"But, Anna-chan… I don't want to go," the brunette pleaded with a weak smile, watching her take her hands to her hips, like she always did when she grew angry. That was not good news.

"Don't call me 'Anna-chan,' I'm not happy with you," she confirmed his thoughts icily before looking at him sternly. "If my memory serves right, it was _you_ who got us into _this_, wasn't it?" the girl fumed madly and tapped her foot impatiently. The blue beads

"Yes…~" the boy answered softly, his head lowered a little, "but, with _all_ those glances you gave me… Well, you see… I thought you wanted to go."

She shot him a dead glance, looking grim. "You're really stupid, aren't you, Yoh?" Anna sighed; she couldn't even be shocked by it anymore.

**_.:Flashback:._**

"You are thus invited to the ball in honor of the Great Spirits," Silva had said with his deep voice. "It shall be a relaxing moment for all remaining shamans in the tournament. It's a couple's dance, truth to be told; Goldva-sama thought it would be appropriate considering it's the spring solstice. But a large group would be fine as long as you remember to says so for the seating arrangements." He smiled warmly at the group of friends who were exchanging looks dubiously. "I will need a confirmation of assistance. Now, preferably."

"_The Ren_ team will go!" Horo Horo was the first one to agree, arguing about all the _'great food'_ he would be able to eat, and committed the rest of his team to go as well. "Tamao-chan will go with me too, ne? I do need a girl for the dancing part and who would be better than you, Tamao-chan," the Ainu turned to his new-found friend and smiled cheerfully at her; the flushing girl nodded shyly. Chocolove, who looked ready to pop a new joke as he nodded in agreement, was cut short by a loud exclamation.

"What the hell?" Ren hollered, the vein in his eyebrow popping violently, "Are you an idiot? Why should I, the Great Tao Ren, assist to such humiliating event?!" The golden-eyed boy took out his oh-so-faithful kwan-do, but as he turned around to stomp away after poking the unsuspecting Ainu with his sharp-edged weapon, he met his sister's scolding glance and pleasant smile. Jun raised her eyebrows expectantly and it was enough for him to smoothly settle down and finally gave in.

"If onii-chan goes, then I go too!" an extremely cheery Pilica added, clinging onto one of her brother's arms, who immediately tried to escape her grip. And before the unsuspecting Chinese could escape or even understand what was about to happen, she curved her other arm around the fuming Tao boy's as well. "You should be happy too, Ren-san, it's going to be fun! And it looks like you haven't had fun a long, loooong while!" she added, grinning brazenly.

"Woman, leave me alone!" the golden-eyed Chinese screamed, clearly embarrassed, as he tried to get out of the girl's grip. His friends snickered as everything he tried proved to be ineffective against the smaller girl. He turned around, frowning as he unwillingly searched for help, given that Horo _had_ efficiently escaped from his younger sister and she now had both arms around him. He panicked, obviously, upon finding his sister's smug smile... "Nee-san, don't laugh!"

Anna rolled her eyes at the sight and huffed in annoyance; only those Ainu siblings knew how to push Tao Ren's worst buttons. Just then, Yoh, still smiling sheepishly at the red beet Tao, turned to ask her something but she'd been faster herself to turn around as she avoided to meet his gaze. The rest were oblivious to this little exchange and even more so to the little frown on Yoh's face as Anna turned away; he was looking more confused by the minute.

Faust and Ryuu had accepted, the first thinking about dancing with his beautiful Eliza, while the second in all the pretty girls he could meet there. Manta had agreed as well, willing to spend more time with all of his friends other than at the shaman fights. The only ones left to confirm their assistance were, in fact…

"So, Yoh-kun," Silva looked questioningly at the scrawny, always-smiling teen, "are you and Anna-san coming?" He turned to look at the young itako, then back at her future husband.

"Umm, we…" the brunette looked nervously at his fiancée who was giving him dead glances. He looked at her trying to understand her silent gestures. He was sure that if he made the wrong choice, he would regret it… really, _really_ regret it. On the opposite side, Silva smiled at him apologetically, but it was the way it had to be done and assistance was to be confirmed by the shamans themselves, according to Goldva-sama.

'_Say no!'_ the girl screamed in her mind; this kind of events were always so troublesome for her. She hated hot, crowded places and lousy music and happy-go-lucky idiots swarming the place. Trying to make him understand, she lifted a brow at him and crossed her arms. _'No, Yoh, no way!'_

She tried opening her mouth to say something, but as fast as she did, as fast as she closed it. The question had been directed at Yoh, and it was he who should answer… correctly. After all, she thought for a second, if they were going to get married someday he would need to start taking decisions for both of them, right? That's what Kino-sensei had said once…

But if he was going to do so, he better make the _best _decision, or else _she_ would give him a piece of her mind… And, why was he taking so long? Couldn't he just say no?

Anna smiled grimly. God, she really didn't want to go to that silly dance. And he just kept staring at her so stupidly… Damn it all, _she_ would refuse the offering herself. And why was she keeping silent, anyways? Everyone here knew who had the rein in this relationship.

"We are n…" she had started in a low voice, but the shaman next to her interrupted her sentence.

"Yeah, we'll go," he said, smiling at the elder man, then turning around to grin at her.

His face and sheepish smile were too much. The girl was so taken aback that she merely closed her mouth and stared. Had he just…?

"Then all of you have accepted to go," the Patch man received nods and he smiled at the group of shamans, "The ball shall start at eight o'clock at the Great Hall, tomorrow night. We will have a toast and then the feast will begin," Silva finished, and after bowing politely, he walked away from the table and back to his place behind the counter.

Oh, he did…

Sensing the red aura radiating from the itako, the rest of the shamans slowly made up excuses and left, leaving the strange couple alone. The boy was grinning nervously, looking around for the non-existent help, everyone around him were at least five meters away.

"The thing is… I don't know how to dance," he laughed, suddenly admitting to nobody in particular.

"DAMNIT!" Anna cursed deafeningly, surprising and frightening her fiancé. "Yoh, you fool!!!"

The girl finally exploded and she took drastic measures…

**_.:End of Flashback:._**

Yoh rubbed his left cheek, where he could still feel the lingering sensation caused by her cold slap. Each of her thing fingers was imprinted on his poor, swollen cheek.

"I said, I thought you wanted to go," he muttered, still rubbing his sore jaw.

After some thought, the blonde seemed to lose some of her anger. But not much. At least it meant that he worried about what _she _wanted, even if it wasn't what _he_ thought it was. Still… "Hmm, baka…" she muttered under clenched teeth. Then told him off sternly, "But… you don't even know how to dance!"

"I am…" he was trying to get an excuse; but in moments like this, his head didn't help him at all. It was risky trying to say something right now anyways. He tried the sheepish smile, it always seemed to work, a bit, to calm his fiancée.

"_You_… nothing! Listen, Yoh, if you got us into this then now you are learning how to dance! Stand up!" the girl said approaching him and pulling him up from the bed. "You won't embarass me in front of everyone any further. Got that clear?"

"Yes, Anna-ch… Anna," he finished hopelessly as she turned to glare at him. Her hazel eyes were smoldering him.

The girl returned to where the music recorder was and pushed the button once more so the tune began playing again.

"Now," she said standing closer to him, "there are many ways of dancing. Starting with positions... As I hope you know, you can dance with the other person without having to hold each other, but that is more for informal parties, and we are attending a ball after all," she grimaced, "So, you can put both of your arms around my waist, and I'll wrap mine around your neck."

She saw him gulp and nod, paying attention as best as he could. "Or, you can put only one arm around my waist, then I'll put my hand on your shoulder, and we have to hold each other's free hand."

He nodded again, stiff as a rock, as he stood in front of her. This wasn't working very well and it ticked Anna off greatly. And so, she waited for him to do something. When it seemed he wasn't about to move, she arched her brow dangerously. "So? Aren't you going to do some_thing _at all?"

"AHH! Y-yes!!" He was clumsy as he circled her body with his arms, doing just what he had heard, which had been pretty much nothing after: _'your arms around my waist'. _

"_Okay_," she said eyeing him curiously as she felt his hands pose themselves softly and ever so hesitantly against her lower back, "so we've got that settled. The next thing is for you to hear and actually _feel_ the music." She shut her eyes. "Listen to it closely; I know at least you can do that well. Since you are the '_man_'" she emphasized mockingly and he pouted, "you have to take the lead and it is important that you understand the melody and the rhythm."

Anna opened her eyes to peer at his confused and rather pink face. She swallowed the chuckle in her throat and told him, instead. "The song you are hearing is rather simple to dance, but it is still elegant."

Yoh obliged diligently, listening to the tune's flowing notes. "It's nice…" he said closing his own eyes as well while a little smile crept up his lips.

"I chose it after all," the young woman murmured, closing her eyes again and quietly enjoying the tune. "I'm sure they'll play it, since it is a very common piece for ballroom dances."

The clock on the wall ticked furiously as seconds became minutes, and so, some time passed had passed as they stood there, him holding her tighter and she had started to unconsciously lean on him. Until, that is, she realized how her head was dangerously and slowly heading to lean on his shoulder and that was not going happen in this lifetime.

"Geez!" she exclaimed, pulling away. "Are you going to lead or not?"

The young shaman opened his eyes and looked straight into the girl's amber pools. "Yes, yes…" Yoh answered quickly, and then paused for a while before making his own question, "But… how?"

"GOD!" his blonde fiancée sighed, exasperated; then, she took started moving and pulled him along. "Look, just move your feet like this and count the steps: 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4…" she counted for him as he started moving. He turned to look at her, then at their feet, back at her, and smiled.

"1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2,…" he repeated after her.

They moved in such pace for a moment, until softer notes began as the song was about to reach an almost lulling moment. Anna was quick to explain: "The rhythm is getting slower after this; I think you've noticed, right? You need to space the steps a little more, then."

He nodded in understanding and waited until she told him to slow down. "Uh, like this? Um,.. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4."

The corner of Anna's lips curved themselves into a small, satisfied smile. He looked at their feet and then at her, happily seeing that he was finally 'getting it'. He grinned brilliantly at her, and her face went stoic again. "Don't get too excited, Yoh" she scowled, "but… you're doing well."

"Yes," he agreed happily, still smiling at her. After all, when they were coming from her, Yoh thought, those words were a great compliment. "Thank you."

Anna ignored him and continued her strict instructing. "Slower. 1… 2… 3… 4… Got it?"

"Mm hmm," he said looking at her, his feet now moving naturally. They swayed along the music.

"Now it'll go faster." She was directing him as she moved gracefully in the short space the room provided. Yoh look up and down between her face and feet, following her suit. "Count with me now:1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4."

Yoh laughed and Anna couldn't avoid the small smile still shining on her face, even when she did her best to hide it from her all-too-observing future husband. Still, without commenting on such rare occurrence, the shaman couple counted together until the song finally reached the gran finale and ended as beautifully as it began and their feet stopped moving.

"Fine, Yoh, you managed to master the basics." Anna consented as she put down her arms and looked at him squarely. The small, content smile on face had been replace with her usual grim-looking, thin-lipped smile. "You'll do fine, I hope… or rather, you better hope you do." She 'hmphed' and arched her eyebrows. "You can let me go now, you know?"

Yoh looked at her intently, as if pondering her words, but kept seizing her by her waist. "No."

"What?" she blurted, suddenly feeling her temper rising and her heart beating quickly. This was not happening and this was not her Yoh. Yoh never, ever, said no to her.

"I said no, Anna" he repeated and kept smiling reassuringly while holding onto her waist. "I don't think I want to do that."

"Oh… Wh-why?!" her cheeks heated up as his figure loomed over her. No, this _wasn't_ normal at all. And she had started stuttering, too. Really now, how was it even possible that she'd been reduced to a stuttering mouse?

"Because," he said simply, finding himself actually enjoying the fact that she seemed so afraid of him for once. Intimidated, was the right word for it.

"But…" She was getting nervous under his gaze and she clenched her fists into tiny balls. "It's getting late and I have to dress up. Yoh, you have to let me go now or I'll…"

"What?" He released a soft chuckle at her uneasiness and she blushed, though she looked visibly angry.

To her, this was really unnerving. When Yoh didn't seem to budge, she then got ready to slap him. But even as she tried that, out of nowhere to catch him off-guard, his hand came to stop hers midway before any damage could be done.

"Asakura Yoh!" she yelled, effectively wriggling her right hand out of his grip and regaining some composure, though the pink stains in her pale cheeks were still there. "Let me go, now!!"

Yoh looked positively serious as he looked down at her and murmured: "I told you, I don't want to."

"Is that so?" she asked heatedly, the spark in her eyes was aflame. He was getting on her nerves, damn it! And she was so damn ready to show him that.

"That's right…" he said smirking at Anna, like he'd done not once in the past.

Before she really knew what was happening, Yoh was already against her a little too much; worse, he was already towering her. Mindlessly, she wondered when he'd gotten so tall… Wait, why was she thinking of something like that right now!?

Too close, too close…

'_Don't do anything stupid, Asakura Yoh… or _I_ will kill you later, I promise!'_ she thought as he saw the smirk in his face slowly turn into a serious expression. He was getting closer to her face, and for once in her lifetime when it came to Yoh, she felt really powerless; she couldn't move or back away.

Closer, closer…

"Yoh… what the hell… mmph…"

Yoh ended the gap between them, and then she had been silenced.

He had brushed his lips against hers eagerly but still very gently at first. As his anxiousness was lost, his lips moved over hers slowly and lovingly. Despite herself, her body loosened up to him, tiptoeing to get nearer without even realizing she was doing it on her own. She tried say something to stop him, but he only took it as a chance and deepened their kiss. She circled his neck once more, like she'd done when they were dancing, and her fingers slowly find their way and tangled themselves up in his mahogany brown hair.

…

Anna eyes' snapped open; she was still dazed but finally realizing what she was doing. Abruptly breaking the kiss she had been so involved in seconds before, she pushed him aside and stumbled a few steps backwards, raising her cold fingers to touch her red lips, where the tingling sensation of his warmth still lingered.

He was startled as well, almost falling when she pushed him back. His wide eyes had lost the strange glint to them from moments ago. His cheeks were burning as bright as hers.

"Why…?" her voice was below a whisper, eyes downcast, and he could barely make up something of what she had said.

He avoided her angry face, lowering his head too as he found the floor increasingly interesting. Yoh knew not what had gotten into him: the sudden surge of confidence, the sudden need to kiss her then and there, the sudden feeling that everything would turn alright. The conflicting thoughts he'd always carried had erased themselves from his head in the spur of the moment. Now he had to confront what he'd done, because Anna looked every inch livid; there was no other choice at hand.

"Say, Anna, I'm…" he tried innocently, looking up at her. He was met with the sight of Anna staring at him rather closely. But, where those tiny things… tears in her eyes? She must have been really mad.

"How dare you, stupid?!" she fumed, her fist shaking.

"I'm sorry, I-I…" he looked at the floor once more, his shoes suddenly became interesting as well, they went well with the rocky surface and the nature-themed trimming the Patch had fashioned for their hotel rooms' walls. "I couldn't help it," he muttered shyly, but she was already shouting at him before he could say anything else.

"You… you… Argh!!!" she had no words, a rare thing in her, but she felt the need to shout and scream and bite his head off.

Yoh endured it expertly, waiting as she rambled off about his stupidness and how he'd defiled her lips and… "Wait a minute," the boy raised his head after thinking hard for a moment in which his ears had denied the flow of her words to reach his brain.

"Now what?!" she yelled exasperated.

"Anna-chan," he added the suffix without noticing her corresponding wince, "but you… you kissed me back!" Yoh beamed proudly as a goofy grin spread through his features, realizing such a thing made him glow with cheeriness.

"W-what?!" the girl's eyes widened and she took a step back, a furious blush on her cheeks. She braced herself as Yoh took a step forward.

"Well… I'm sure I _'felt'_ you kiss back," he said coyly, the grin on his face was infectious. He tried to touch her hair, feeling brave, "You did."

"No!!! No, I didn't!!!" the girl spat back, pushing away his hand and blushing from head to toe. This was certainly not happening.

"Yes…" he said nodding adamantly. He looked as though he'd thought of it long enough to be really certain of it. "You did," the mahogany-haired young man added calmly as he laughed sheepishly.

Anna's face could have challenged a tomato in redness. "No! I did not."

"You did," he replied happily, as he began humming contentedly.

"No! No! No! No! No!"

***

Far from the scene, behind the window to be precise, two butterfly-like figures chatted quietly. These were two small fairies.

"I see our little meddling has been of great help," the first said happily, laughing heartily at the ongoing exchange. That girl could really blush.

"You're right, Keiji-kun… It was good they didn't notice our presence there," the female fairy looked at her partner, seeming doubtful. Her purple wings flapped once as they hunched themselves to look through the window.

"You're right, but it was tougher than I thought. Wasn't it Momo-chan?" he asked slightly concerned.

"Ah… Yes, I was only able to have power over the itako for a split second, the rest of it she did it by herself," she frowned at her own mistake. "Gee, it would have been much fun if I had controlled her a little bit more though…"

The fairy with green and blue wings adjusted his hat, grinning in mischief. "And the Asakura didn't make any protest, hmm… weird."

Momo paused to ponder a bit. "Uh, let's go play another trick to someone else, ok Keiji-kun?"

"Yes," he said looking at her, the mischief still in his grin and in his tiny, almond-shaped eyes. "Let's go! There's still more interesting people to play with!"

He flied away and Momo soon followed.


	2. Dancing

**Would you dance with me?**

**Written by:** Adriana –hikari-chan–

**Wrote:** August 24th, 2004

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King doesn't belong to me, ok? But Keiji and Momo do!

**A/N:** It never occurred to me to make a second chapter, but your reviews encouraged me to do so. This will be mainly a RenxPilica chapter, with small appearances of other pairings. This happens somewhere in the middle of the Shaman Fight, at the Patch Village. The chara's are kinda OOC, in this case, Ren, but I'll explain it shortly. Word list in case you don't know the terms I'll be using (I used them on the first chapter, so I'll have to continue with them so it doesn't look different. Hey, at least I used less than last time... n.n). Please, **_remember to review!!_**

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**Word list:**

::: aa - yes (masculine) ::: ano - uh ::: ara - oh (femenine) ::: arigatou - thank you ::: baka - stupid, fool ::: bakayarou - idiot, asshole ::: dakedo - but ::: demo - but ::: hai - yes ::: iie - no ::: Kami-sama! - God! ::: k'so / kuso - all purpose curse, "damn" ::: mou - goodness, "geez!" ::: nande? - what the...? ::: nande kuso? - what the hell...? ::: ne? - right? no? isn't it?::: onna - woman ::: (o)nee-san / (o)nee-chan - big sister ::: (o)nii-san / (o)nii-chan - big brother ::: onegai - please :::

* * *

"Ren-kun, come on!" his sister prodded him.

"Iie," it was a low hiss. He crossed his arms and turned away; he knew damn too well that he couldn't face his sister and not comply to her wishes... yet. For he WOULD, someday, be able to say 'no' to her.

_HE WOULD!!_

"Ooohhh!!! Why not?" she asked whining childishly. The green-haired Taoist then threw at him a black tux. "Just try it on! I bet you'll look great with it!"

Her brother caught it and eyed the piece of clothing with disgust.

"I'm not wearing _that_," he argued hotly, throwing the clothes to the bed next to him, "It's embarrassing, 'Nee-san. And I didn't want to go in the first place."

Jun pouted slightly, "Demo, Pilica-chan was looking forward that you'd go."

"Urgh..." Ren's eye twitched violently as he remembered the awkward moment the girl had caused when the Patch Silva had invited them to this 'ball'. She was... outrageous! And... and... she had clung to him! The blasted onna...

**.:Flashback:.**

_"Nande kuso?" he hollered, "You bakayarou, why should I, the Great Tao Ren, assist to such humiliating event?!" His golden eyes flickered with fury as he took out his oh-so-faithful kwan-do. He was ready to strike at the baka Ainu, but as he turned around and met his 'nee-san's scolding glance and pleasant smile, he smoothly settled down and finally gave in._

_"If onii-chan goes, then I go too!" a cheerful Pilica added, clinging onto one of her brother's arms, who immediately tried to escape her grip, then onto one of his. His?!?! "You should be happy too, Ren-san," she told him, "it's going to be fun! And it looks like you haven't had fun a long, loooong while!" she said grinning._

_SHE WAS MAKING FUN OF _HIM, TAO REN!!!!!!!!!

_"Onna, leave me alone!" he screamed embarrassed as he tried to get out of the girl's grip. His friends snickered and right then he had the need to slash everyone in two. He turned around frowning in search of help, since Horo had efficiently escaped from the girl, she now had both arms around the him. Ren panicked even more as he heard a fluttery laugh... "Nee-san, don't laugh!"_

**.:End of Flashback:.**

His face had the slight tinge of pink. "I... don't care what that brat does."

Jun giggled to herself, only to make her little brother growl, then produced out of the room's closet a magnificent Chinese attire with black and violet fabrics and showed it to him. "Then, why not try this?"

"IIE," he decided firmly. He wouldn't budge, he wouldn't budge...

"Onegai?"

"Iie. I won't go!" He wouldn't give in, he wouldn't...

"Come one, everyone will be there!"

"So?" He asked sarcastically, his boredom evident as he leaned on the wall.

"Onegai, Ren-kun, for your big sis?" She intertwined her fingers and peered at him with one eye.

He sighed. "Alright, I'll go. But I _won't_ use a tux!"

"Hai, hai!" she grinned, then throwing the Tao's traditional outfit at him.

He caught it swiftly and stared at it blankly. The Tao emblem was embroidered with fine thread and the fabric was soft against his skin. It was definitely one of the most elegant outfits he had. He didn't quite understand why would his sister would want him to wear it just now.

He heaved yet another sigh. Someday, he told himself, someday he would be able to say no to her.

"Ah, and, Ren-kun?" she asked once she was at the door. He turned to look at her over his shoulder and waited to listen what she had to say. "Pilica-chan will be your partner!"

"NANDE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Jun giggled, and Ren proceeded to hit his head against the wall.

"K'so, k'so, k'so, k'so... KUSOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

00000000000

"Onii-chan, how does this look? Huh, huh?" The azure-eyed girl questioned as she whirled around with a dark blue dress pressed on her body.

Horo Horo looked at his younger sister with a bored expression. "Fine..."

"Onii-chan! Pay attention!" she scolded, "This is important! I've never been to a ball before!"

"Neither do I, and I'm not fuzzing around," he yawned lazily as he stretched his arms behind his head. He was sprawled on the bed comfortably.

"Dakedo..." she bit her lower lip. This _was_ important... to her.

"And I'm not happy that you are going with the shark either..." he added as an after thought, sitting back straight to stare at her. He still was her over-protective big brother.

"Hey, Jun-san said Ren-kun offered himself to go with me!" She bickered, although her face grew hot.

She turned away and walked to the closet, from where she pulled out other dresses. A purple one with a skirt with many waves, a red one with tiny straps, and a strapless yellow dress.

"Ren-kun?" he eyed her warily as she discarded the rest of the dresses and decided over the spaghetti strap, blue one that she had looked at first.

"Hai, Ren-kun," she said, still not facing her brother.

"Hn... you're right, maybe I better go get ready for this 'ball' too," he said, scratching his head, when he saw her turn around and narrow her blue eyes at him he fumbled for a cover, "I don't want Tamao or that delicious food to wait for me, do I?"

"Iie, you don't!" Pilica nodded happily.

00000000000

An hour and a half later, they both heard a knock on their door. Horo grunted as his sister happily skipped towards it and opened the door to reveal a grimacing Ren.

"Ara! Ren-kun! I'm glad you arrived early!" she greeted, "I'll be ready in a sec., I'll just go for my purse, ok?"

"Whatever..." he replied blankly. It wasn't enough to make he girl's smile falter.

"Hn..." he looked away hastily from the girl. He wouldn't notice how the dress fitted her perfectly, he wouldn't notice how the blue fabric wrapped around her few curves. She was just a kid for god's sake! No, he wouldn't notice how her blue eyes had twinkled when she saw him or how her skin was so white and clean...

Horo walked past Ren, 'accidentally' hitting his friend's shoulder with his own and waking him from his thoughts. Disgruntled, Ren turned to glare at him. Horo let out a snicker. "Let's go, I still have to pick up Tamao-chan..."

Pilica came back quickly, slipping an arm around Ren's happily. Much to the boy's discontent.

00000000000

The grand doors of the ball room where opened to let them in. They had all met at the Patch hotel's lobby and arrived together at the Patch Great Hall. Silva greeted them and showed them their way inside.

Anna, dressed in a black evening dress, stood quietly next to Yoh, who was beaming proudly for some unknown reason. Surprisingly, he had his fingers linked with his fiancée's, gripping the girl's hand tightly. And said girl hadn't slapped him until now.

Horo was chattering with an unresponsive Tamao and stole glances from his sister and Ren occasionally. Chocolove bragged along with Ryuu who'd get most girl's in one night. Manta walked along Eliza and Faust, who pretty much ignored him, but from time to time, Faust looked at Manta and replied to whatever the midget had said. Jun looked around excitedly as her kyonshii laughed silently at his master antics.

And lastly, but not least, were Pilica and Ren. The latter hadn't speak at all except for the usual greetings when they met up with everyone in the lobby. He was concentrating as much as possible to look somewhere else instead of the girl that held his arm tightly.

"This is fun, ne, Ren-kun?"

"Aa," he grunted, thinking otherwise...

00000000000

She tapped her fingers impatiently on the table, leaning her head on her other hand. She let out a breath of exasperation. "Mou! Ren-kun, aren't you gonna ask me if I want to dance?"

She looked at him and then at the couples in the dance floor. Yoh-san and Anna-san where already there, along with her brother and a red beet Tamao-chan. She even came to conclude that Eliza and Faust were the first ones to start dancing.

"Iie," he answered firmly. This time, there wouldn't be one soul in this planet able to change his mind. Jun was one thing, but he'd never EVER do something for a little brat like this Ainu girl. NEVER. Not even if she started pouting like she did, and then started complaining angrily at him. No, he wouldn't...

"Maybe you don't know how to dance!" she suggested, trying to taunt him.

"I do," he answered plainly.

"Prove it then!" she challenged, but he merely looked at her evenly.

"I don't want to."

"Argh! Ren-kun!" she yelled tiredly, then raising a brow to study the serene looking boy. "Fine then. I'll look for someone who is willing to dance with me!"

She stood up from the table, leaving the boy slightly shocked. Did she just leave HIM? AH!! What did he care! He frowned, crossing his arms as he saw Pilica get near the punch table.

The blue-haired girl walked around the ballroom, not really knowing what to do. So she had thought of getting something to drink.

As she was taking a last sip from her soda, a blonde boy with the greenest eyes she'd ever seen came up to her.

"Are you on you're own?" he asked intently. She smiled and nodded.

"My name is Kamiya Kouji," he provided, "and yours?"

"I'm Usui Pilica, it's a pleasure to meet you," the azure-headed bowed slightly, her hair falling around her face as she did.

"The pleasure is mine," he grinned, the offered his hand in a boyish fashion "Say, Pilica-san, would you care for a dance?"

And just as she was about to answer, a swift tornado took her away from him... A tornado?

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed angrily as she felt herself being dragged towards the middle of the dance floor. Immediately recognizing the boy thanks to his hair-do. "Ren-kun!!!"

The Tao heir roughly slipped his arms around the Ainu girl's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"You came with ME, you'll _only_ dance with ME," he stated simply and throwing her a look.

"Anou, but, Ren-kun...." She flushed as his words sank in, then looked embarrassedly at him.

"Hn. Shut up and dance!" The Tao squeezed her hand reassuringly, and the slightest hint of a smile graced his features. Barely a curve in his lips.

"I..." she looked uncertain, "Okay."

They danced along the crowd, getting glances from their friends who looked at them weirdly but made no comments. The song was neither too fast nor too slow, the lyrics blended perfectly with the music, and Pilica even found herself murmuring the words.

"Arigatou, Ren-kun," she told him when they were still moving along the music.

He looked down at her; surprisingly enough, he had grown past summer enough to over-height her by a couple of centimeters. Oh, Kami-sama, how much did his friends had teased him about his short height... Ren motioned her to continue.

"I'm glad you came with me."

Ren gazed at her with the fondest look she'd ever seen from him, except when he looked at Jun-san. It was a looked torn between sympathy and gentleness. And he could only nod at her as his face came closer...

The song was slowly coming to an end.

"Thanks for dancing with me," he muttered silently and snapping out of this trance. He promptly let he go as soon as the song ended.

Pilica stared at him openly before she laughed heartily at him. He glared at the girl, irritated; he was still confused at to what had come over him...

"Ah, but Ren-kun, the night's not over yet," she told him, smiling warmly.

Ren stared at her blankly, then questioningly. The azure-eyed girl smiled and nodded.

He looked far away from her and offered his hand.

Pilica was grinning as she was lead to the dance floor, yet again.

00000000000

"Momo-chan, this isn't fun," her partner complained, "I had too much trouble with this one!" His blue wings flapped quickly as he posed on the branch of a tree.

The pink fairy nodded in agreement as she too sat next to him. "Although the girl was pretty easy to convince," she told him. The female fairy sighed, "This shamans are different from the rest of them."

"Let's try on those two, ne?" They faced a boy with spiky, blue hair that had been dancing previously with his friend. The boy was now sitting in a round table, eating everything available in the buffet, next to him a pink-haired and ruby-eyed girl sat meekly while smiling softly.

"Hai!"

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**...TSUZUKU...**

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**If you noticed I said that Ren had grown up. First, because I wanted him to be taller than Pilica, and secondly because there's a time when boys are around 13-15 that they grow up a lot. Also, please do notice I didn't put Pilica's introduction with Kouji in Japanese, I thought you all might hate me if I did. HEHE... n.n See you in the next chapter!**

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**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far:**

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_Bulaklak Girl_ (Thanks for your reviews!)  
_goldfish demon_ (thankies! evil fairies WILL conquer the world!!!! Mwahahahaha!!!!)  
_asn water_ (yup, yoh's kinda coward when it comes to anna, isn't he? but I still 3 him!)  
_cherri-chan_ (hey, thanks for reviewing cherri-chan! long time no see...)  
_Anonymous One_ (hehehe, Keiji and Momo are characters of my own, little fairies who like to trick people)  
_KristiexxNguyen_ (uh, more? thankies for reviewing!)  
_cosmos star_ (thanks for dropping by!)  
_X37_ (yeah, that was the point. I'm sorry for the Japanese part, I did try to take them out but something didn't allow me to do it!)  
_animexgirlxfreak_ (thanks for your review!)  
_Tiff-Chan_ (ahahaha, thank you!)  
_blabla_ (you mean, wonder's who's next as in, another chapter? you want me to write another one, really?)  
_bOw-doWn-tO-KeiKO_ (of course Yoh's cute!)  
_Andrea-k-16_ (I, well, thanks -blush-)


	3. Food & Fright

**Would you dance with me?**

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**Written by:** Adriana –hikari-chan–

**Date:** August 24th, September 12th, 2004

**Disclaimer:** Shaman King doesn't belong to me, ok? But Keiji and Momo do!

**A/N:** First of all, I AM REALLY, REALLY SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY.... Ah, I blame my hurt thumb, thus, an unutilized hand, and my lack of ideas for the late update (do notice this chapter is longer though). This happens somewhere in the middle of the Shaman Fight, at the Patch Village. The chara's are kinda OOC but I'll explain shortly. Word list in case you don't know the terms I'll be using. As for my next update... you must know that I'm a weird person and writer... You see, I have chapter 5 ready, but as of chapter 4 it is around 20 done (don't worry, I'm already working on it). Please, **_remember to review!!_**

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**Word list:**

::: aa - yes (masculine) ::: anou - uh ::: ara - oh (femenine) ::: arigatou - thank you ::: daijoubu - don't worry ::: dakedo - but ::: demo - but ::: eeto – well ::: gomen/gomen ne/gomen nasai – I'm sorry ::: hai - yes ::: iie – no ::: k'so / kuso - all purpose curse, "damn" ::: mou - goodness, "geez!" ::: nande? - what the...? ::: nani? – what? ::: ne – hey, say (at the beginning of a sentence) ::: ne? - right? no? isn't it? , okay? (at the end of a sentence) ::: onegai - please ::: sumimasen – excuse me ::: sou ka? – , right? is it like that ::: _sou ka..._ can be used as "you're right", "right", or "it is" according to the context ::: watashi – I :::

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"_**Welcome, Shamans, to the Shaman Fight Ball**!" Silva had announced in a deep voice and bowed at them. _

_The astounding background behind him made a magnificent scene. Golden chandeliers with many crystals and lights, waiters running all around the place to attend the guests, round, greatly decorated tables and a dance floor. Soft music flooded their ears. It almost made them gape._

"Yo_, Silva!" Yoh had greeted cheerfully, waving at the tall Patch officer._

"_Uh, er... Yeah, hi, Yoh-kun."_

00000000000

Tamao was gazing at the people in the ball room quietly, her heart thumping so loud that she was afraid the group of friends around her would hear it.

"Daijoubu, Tamao-chan!" a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to meet Horo Horo gazing at her with twinkling blue eyes. He sat in his chair as he grinned sheepishly at her, "Everything will be alright, remember?"

"Hai," she smiled uneasily. She wasn't nervous about being with Horo-kun, being with him was actually fun, but rather she was nervous about the ball itself. She had never been in one before, not once.

"_Let' dance, Anna-chan!"_ she heard Yoh-sama yell cheerfully as he dragged his unusually quiet fiancée to the dance floor as soon as a first song was played.

The pink-haired prophetess grinned inwardly, something had happened between those two because Yoh-sama looked particularly joyful tonight. Faust and Eliza joined them too. She observed the two couples dancing close, a few other guest swayed around as well. She let out a dreamy sigh.

"Hmm," Horo seemed thoughtful, "Come on, Tamao-chan. Let's go too!" Horo invited her to dance eagerly.

Tamao looked at Horo with a startled expression and she could only nod shyly to his request. He held her hand reassuringly to show her there was nothing to worry about, but she was still anxious. It was a perfect first song, though. The melody and the lyrics filled the pink-haired girl's ears as she looked at the grinning Ainu boy holding her waist. She looked down, flushing, and it earned a chuckle from him. They moved awkwardly at first.

The Ainu raked his blue hair with his fingers, laughing heartily. "Ne, Tamao, I'm not gonna eat you."

"G-gomen, Horo Horo-san," she fumbled an apology.

The boy laughed again, "And please, lets drop the formalities, ok? We're friends!"

She smiled softly, "Hai, Horo-kun."

Horo beamed. "That's more like it."

Tamao nodded and allowed herself to grin at him. As they danced, Horo took the liberty to twirl her around, her fluttery dress swaying around her.

00000000000

Tamao and Horo were sharing a second piece when the boy took a glance at his sister and frowned. First he'd seen Pilica with the _shark, _otherwise known as Tao Ren,at the table the group was sharing, sitting stiffly on her chair as though she was bored to tears. And, to be honest, he was quite content about it; but that was besides the point. Then, some guy he definitely did not approve of had come near her when she was standing near the drinks. This did not, by any means, seem funny to him. He was already thinking of what he'd say to Ren about this matter... Hey, he had trusted him enough to protect his sister!

So, anyway... he had his speech ready when suddenly he noticed that Pilica was with the _shark_ **again **and... dancing? Nande...?

His frown darkened... maybe he liked the little blondie more.

"Daijoubu," he heard Tamao whisper to him shyly, trying to reassure him, "Pilica-chan will be fine if she is with Ren-san."

Horo gripped the girl's hand subconsciously. "Aa, sou ka," he smiled, though it was a little strained. _'That's what worries me.'_

Tamao giggled softly at him and nodded. His blue eyes searched for her dark pink ones. "Gomen nasai, Tamao-chan."

The girl paused to stare at him for a moment then shook her head, "Let's dance for now, ne?"

"Hai, hai!!" he yelled enthusiastically. Almost _too_ enthusiastically, "But first, could we got eat something? I'm starving..." And as if to confirm his words, his stomach let out a soft growl.

Tamao sweatdropped, she had seen this coming. "Anou, let's go then..."

00000000000

"Aa!!!"

"This is gooooood!!" Horo sang as he swallowed down a second plate of smashed potatoes, bread, and turkey.

Tamao laughed awkwardly, taking a bite from her meal.

"Ahh, you should try this!" he exclaimed, almost shoving at her a piece of strawberry shortcake. She didn't even have time to wonder how he had passed to dessert already.

"Anou... Um, I... no thanks," she rejected his offer politely.

The blue-haired youngster gulped down a piece of bread and smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "Gomen, it's just that I eating food very, _very_ much." He added an apologetic grin.

"Daijoubu, I understand," she smiled, "I love cooking very much too."

Horo's grin, if possible, got wider. "That's why I like you so much! And you're also very kind and pretty and..." he stopped dead in his tracks, his widened eyes mirroring hers. He had too much this time. Kuso! Damn him and his BIG mouth.

"Eeto... eh... hehehehe... I... I'm out of drink," he stood up almost mechanically, "Do you... need anything?"

"Wa-watashi... Iie, I'm fine," she looked away, her face turning a bright pink that rivaled her hair.

"Alright, then," he said and walked away, still moving along his shock.

Why did his beautiful and **extremely** hot person, he thought, had to have such a big mouth!? Okay, so maybe he had noticed that Tamao was cute, a little... Fine! She was really cute. But she was three years younger than him, practically a kid! Correction, A kid. And, and she had a crush on his friend, didn't she? Wait, why did that matter anyway?

He had met her only a few months ago, when Yoh, him, and their friends met up with Anna and the rest just before arriving at the Patch Village. And it had been just _now,_ that she befriended his sister, that he had noticed her. _Maybe _he did noticed her before, because who wouldn't notice such a gentle and sweet girl?

...Good Lord, he was rambling now!

He finally reached the table of drinks. The Ainu found what he wanted and then, automatically drank three full glasses of soda, taking one more in his hand to drink at his table.

Who wouldn't notice Tamao? If he did, many others would...

Horo Horo paused. What the hell was he thinking!? Something was waaaay wrong with him...!

00000000000

Tamao squirmed in her seat uncomfortably, wriggling her fingers around her pinkish, flowing skirt. Her hand trailed upwards and she carefully fingered the blue flower adorning her hair. It was a very rare, strange, and beautiful present from Horo Horo-kun. To celebrate her first official ball, he had said. She had been baffled when he gave it to her at her hotel door, with Pilica-chan and Ren-san as witnesses. But a carefree grin from the Ainu had made her forget about her embarrassment.

As she remembered the scene, she smiled again...

It was weird actually, how Horo Horo could make her flush so easily and yet not make her feel uncomfortable... It was the exact opposite to what happened when she was around Yoh-sama. Around the Asakura heir she would just start stuttering, and it would upset her greatly. Surprisingly enough, realizing that fact didn't upset her as much tonight. Perhaps it had something to with seeing Yoh-sama and Anna-sama looking so happy together (as happy as Anna-sama could look), or maybe because she didn't feel so sad when she saw them. Or maybe, just maybe... because she was really enjoying the night with Horo-kun.

The pink-haired girl smiled inwardly as she stopped caressing the soft petal of the bloom. Her eyes scanned the ball room in search for the Ainu, she wanted to thank him properly for the flower... for everything.

Her ruby, innocent eyes widened as she found him, though.

A girl clad in an overly revealing, red dress was looming predatorily over the flustered Ainu boy. Horo Horo seemed to catch Tamao's gaze as he backed away from the girl in utmost... fear? The prophetess gulped. The looked in Horo's eyes asked for help? But... but... why? A girl was after him and he was... afraid!?

Either way, she gathered courage and swallowed the knot in her throat.

00000000000

One minute he was thinking how to apologize to Tamao for saying those things and ease her up a little, the other he's trying to escape from a madwoman. Had Hell break loose?

"Horo-chan, was it?" the girl practically purred in his ear.

"H-hai. Usui Horo Horo..." He _was_ scared alright, but he wasn't about to rude with her.

"I like you, Horo-chan," she told him squarely, licking her red lips. "My name is Minaya Yui."

"Ahhh, er... hi?" he said, a bit rushed.

"Su-sumimasen," they both heard a meek voice, but the dark-haired girl took no notice. Horo's heart froze on the other hand.

"Sumimasen." Again, a soft voice called. The girl hastily turned around to meet a shorter, frail looking, pink-headed girl.

"Tamao-chan!" Horo yelled, almost in surprise and happiness as he recognized her. The girl presently clung at his shirt gave her an exasperated expression.

"What do you want?" she scoffed, annoyed, "Don't you see we're trying to have some fun here?"

"We're not..." The pale-faced girl raised a single finger to silence Horo's mouth. It felt cold against his lips, and he gulped down nervously.

"Hush, dear," she told him, then turned again to look pointedly at Tamao. "So?"

"I need to speak with Horo Horo-kun," she explained simply, somewhat squirming under the older girl's scrutinizing gaze.

"Ahh, sou ka? That won't be possible though. Horo-chan here and I are a little busy," her ice blue eyes glinted with obvious mischievousness.

"Hey!" Horo was about to protest when Yui, as she called herself, stomped her foot lightly on his own. Lightly as high-heeled shoes can get anyway.

"Demo..." Tamao fidgeted, oblivious to strained expression in the northerner's face. "Onegai..."

"Pshh.. Girl, you can talk to you brother later!" she said, smiling through gritted teeth.

"She's not my sister," the Ainu managed to escape the girl's grip. She staggered backwards a little. "Now leave me alone!" he said, placing himself slightly in front of Tamao, a frown gracing his features.

Yui pouted childishly. "Mou! I thought you liked me too, Horo-chan," she sniffed, "Am I that ugly?"

"Urk... I don't... er..."

"C'mon, Horo-chan," she slipped her arms around his shoulders, once again clinging unto him, as he laughed nervously. "Come with me!"

"_Excuse me_, miss," Tamao's voice was heard, louder and firmer than before. Both of them looked at her as she unclenched her fists and smiled warmly. "Horo-kun is _my boyfriend_," she explained in an even voice, "So leave him alone, **NOW**!!!"

The whole ball seemed to freeze for a split second as most of the guests and the Patch hosts turned their gazes at the pink-haired girl, who had said her last sentence loud enough for everyone to hear. Yui looked at her wide-eyed, as so did Horo, and her arms fell from the boy's neck. She fixed her dress as movement seemed to return to the place.

"Alright," she said, already walking away, "I'm not those kind of girls to mess up with taken men."

"Erm, I..."

"Arigatou!" Horo yelled suddenly, giving her a swift hug.

"Huh?" Tamao flushed, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"I was scared," he admitted, a bit ashamed, as he scratched the back of his head. A gesture, Tamao noticed, he did every time he was nervous.

"N-nani?" She blurted out the question. He was... scared? So, it hadn't been just her imagination?

"Ehehehehehehe," he scratched his head lazily, yet again. "I, um, you see, I am... er, really _scared _of girls," he finished quietly.

Tamao felt her eyes had fell from her shock.

00000000000

Yui stopped in mid-stride and her blue gaze glazed over for a second.

"Ahh?" The dark-headed looked around confusedly after she had shook her head to clear her thoughts, "wasn't I at the bathroom?" She shrugged it off, grinning happily as she saw one of her friends in a nearby table.

"Kouji-kun!" she waved at a particular green-eyed blonde.

00000000000

"Dakedo... and... what about Pilica-chan?" she questioned.

"She's my sister... and I _am_ afraid of her..." He said, laughing.

"Anou, Horo-kun, before... weren't you always saying that you wanted a girlfriend? Anna-sama said..."

"Why do you think I don't have one?" he cut her as he grinned, "In my town, I always ran away from them. And believe me, they were a lot." Then he added as an afterthought, "I am a _very_ **sexy** and cute person after all."

"Ahahahaha," she laughed awkwardly, sweat-dropping again. "Demo," she began again, "Horo-kun, with me...?" she trailed off.

He looked at her and laughed as she blushed. "I feel comfortable around you!" he stated simply, circling her shoulders with his right arm.

"You're funny, Horo-kun!" she said, in lack of something else to say.

"Now, Tamao-chan. Let's dance one more time, ne?"

"Ara!" she paused, then looked up at him while smiling, "Hai!"

00000000000

"Nice work, Momo-chan!" her partner congratulated her, "You did a good job with the pink-girl!"

Momo blushed slightly as she flapped her wings. "And what about you, Keiji-kun? Two in a row!"

The blue fairy grinned, puffing his chest proudly. "I'm having a loooooot of fun!" he told her excitedly as Momo eyed new targets.

"Look!" she pointed out at a girl among the crowd, "That nun-girl!"

Keiji's eyes narrowed and tried to focus where she was pointing and laughed happily. He gave her a nod of agreement. Oh, they'd have a lot _fun_ tonight.

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...**TSUZUKU...**

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**So, yes, I admit it... chapters 3 and 4 won't be as good as I'd like them to be. And... it was dumb -cry cry- But that's because the best is reserved for chapter 5... Master Hao arrives... you'll have to review if you wanna get there though... -winks-** If you want to read a REAL HoroxTamao, then you'd might like to drop by _"Bouquet"_** n.n Link in my profile. And of course, I want to thank everyone who has added me to their favorite/author alert lists. _THANK YOU GUYS! _I feel so loved... TT**

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**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far:**

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_Lady Shelina Raven_ (n_lll_n thanks)

_Anonymous75632_ (yeah, renxpilica is reallay cute! Ehehe, I'll be posting a fluffly one-shot of them if you're interested)

_remix-69er_ (we should make a club for ren and pili, it's so sad there's so little about them. I can't find any doujinshis or fanart at all T.T)

_xxmoonlight-angelxx_ (thanks a lot for reviewing again!!)

_deathraveness_ (I'm really sorry for the long, long delay, I hope you liked this, a little at least)

_Natsumi_ (thanks a lot, Nat!)

_xanime-queenx_ (a BIG "I'm sorry" to you. Thanks for keeping up with me n.n;;

_Yohna _(I know you'll find something for your story! You will, you will! More YohxAnna on chapter 5, little hints on the fourth).

_bOw-doWn-tO-KeiKO_ (thanks for reviewing, Keiko!)

_cherri-chan_ (a tornado and Taz... makes sense. Hahaha. These little fairies are really messing things up, don't they?)

_asn water_ (I love those fairies too! I can't get enough of them!)

_Andrea-k-16_ (Don't worry, I don't feel that you're stalking me. It's really encouraging in fact. And I feel very flattered you'd take your time to read my nonsense. Thanks a lot! I hoped you enjoyed this!)


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